


Kingdom Hearts Retold: First Chapter HD Remix

by transdisneyprince



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: All Different Disney Worlds, Back Before Lore Was Complicated, Coma-Kairi retconned, Disney References, F/M, If Disney owns it it's fair game, M/M, Midi-chlorians are retconned, Multi, No Love-Triangles, Parallel Universe, Polyamory, Revisionist Storytelling, cartoon violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-01-28 10:18:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12604380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transdisneyprince/pseuds/transdisneyprince
Summary: Sora, Riku, and Kairi are all chosen to keep the Disney worlds from falling into darkness.





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is a complete revision of the first Kingdom Hearts game.

It was a picture perfect afternoon on Destiny Islands. Summer was in full swing, and Sora was almost done making a raft for himself and his two closest friends. The sail was made from his bedsheet, which he had promised his mother he would put back on his bed eventually. And the frame was made from a dozen giant logs, which he had promised his father he would use to make something of great importance. It had taken him all morning to tie the makeshift boat together with some old rope that he had found in a treehouse that they shared with the rest of their friends. But it was all going to be worth it soon.

“So this is what you’ve been up to,” said a familiar, amused voice. “You’re gonna get in a whole lot of trouble for skipping our last day of classes.”

Sora turned around and saw that it was Riku who had joined him on the beachfront. The silver-haired boy had changed out of his school clothes and into his swimming trunks. Sora-- who had been in his swimwear all day-- made a show of rolling his eyes, and promptly went back to securing the mainsail to the mast of his raft.

“I’m not going to get in trouble,” Sora said, “because I’m not going back home.”

Riku blinked, skepticism written all over his face.

“Did Kairi finally talk you into going on that big adventure she’s been dreaming about lately?” he asked and climbed onto the raft.

Sora shook his head. “They’re not just dreams,” he said. “It’s all Kairi’s been able to think about since the meteor shower.”

Riku scoffed and swung around the mast with one hand. “And you think building a boat and sailing out into the middle of the ocean will help her?”

Sora looked up-- towards the distant horizon—and the rope in his hands went slack with uncertainty.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I have to try.”

“Sora!” A surprised voice emanated from the tree line.

Both boys spun around to see Kairi-- still in her blue-and-white school attire—staring in awe at what Sora had secretly built. In no time, she was sprinting across the sand to join them at the water.

“Kairi!” Sora called out to her as he stood. “I’m so glad you’re—“

Kairi advanced on Sora single-mindedly and slapped him on the back of the head. Then she put her hands on her hips and gave him a disapproving pout.

“What are you _doing_ out here?” she demanded. “We were all worried sick about you!”

Sora rubbed the aching spot where Kairi had struck him and groaned with embarrassment.

“I thought this was what you wanted!” he cried out. “You told me you wanted to figure out why you’ve been having those weird dreams for the past few nights!”

Kairi brought herself as tall as her legs would hold her. “This isn’t what I meant!” she shouted. “Look at this! _A raft_?! Sora, we can’t just sail away and hope that we happen upon my hometown!”

Riku crossed his arms over his chest. “See?” he said with a know-it-all look. “I told you.”

Sora’s grip tightened on the rope in his hand. And after a short, thoughtful pause, he sighed. “I wasn’t going to tell you this,” he said. “But I started having strange dreams, too.”

Kairi blinked at him with disbelief. “What do you mean?”

Sora looked around to see if anyone else could hear them, but he clearly saw that they were the only ones to be found on the beach.

“Dreams of other worlds,” he said in a thrilled whisper. “ _Magical_ worlds.”

Riku and Kairi stared back at him with inscrutable expressions.

“Sora, this is ridiculous,” Kairi huffed and tossed the hair from her face. “Tell him that it’s ridiculous, Riku.”

Riku let slip a withering look of doubt. “I’ve had them, too,” he professed. “Dreams of monsters that come out of the darkness… Like nothing I’ve ever seen on the islands.”

Sora and Kairi shared a silent look of concern for their friend as the tide lapped at their bare feet.

“It can’t be a coincidence,” Sora said with newfound resolve. “These dreams are trying to tell us something. We just need to find out _what_.”

Then something washed up onto the sand—a single pink-and-yellow thalassa shell that came to rest next to Kairi’s feet. She picked it up, and on a whim she held it at arm’s length. The shell caught the intense summer sunshine in a bright reflection of colors, and Kairi lost herself in thought.

“A thalassa shell,” she muttered and turned it over in her hand to inspect it. “I’ve heard they’re supposed to be good luck for sailors… on long journeys at sea.”

Sora broke into a sudden, excited smile, and even Riku gave up a compromising smirk.

“So it’s decided, then?” Riku asked them. “We’re really doing this?”

Sora climbed onto the raft to join Riku and held out his hand for Kairi. A glimmer of indecision flashed in her eyes for just a moment, but then she clutched the thalassa shell to her chest and took Sora’s hand.

“We’ll do it together,” she said as Sora lifted her onto the boat.

“All for one and one for all,” Sora agreed.

With one last look back at the islands, Riku yanked the raft’s rigging, and the wind caught their sail. Kairi nearly stumbled, but Sora caught her before she fell into the water. The two of them turned back and watched as their island became smaller and smaller with each passing moment. And in what felt like no time at all, Destiny Islands was nothing but a speck on the horizon.

“There’s no turning back now,” Riku said as the ocean breeze tousled their loose hair and clothes.

“Don’t worry,” Sora told his friends with an enthusiastic grin. “If there are other worlds out there, we’ll definitely find them.”

Kairi fixed her gaze on the thin line that separated the sky from the sea and held her lucky thalassa shell over her heart.

“As long as you two are with me,” she said. “Any world would feel like home.”


	2. A Trial of Strength

The entire world was stretched out into equal parts sea and sky.

After two hours of drifting aimlessly, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were beginning to second-guess their big adventure in search of other worlds. The sun was beating down on them like an oven and the three of them had long since let their feet hang over the side of their raft and into the cold, salty water to help them cool off.

“I’m so thirsty,” Sora moaned. “Why can’t we just drink the ocean?”

“Because it’s saltwater,” Kairi patiently explained to him. “It makes you even more dehydrated; it’ll make you sick.”

Riku reached down and plucked a piece of seaweed from the ocean’s surface. He laid back onto the raft and draped it over his forehead.

“We have to come across land eventually, right?” he said with meager confidence. “We can’t just stay out here forever.”

Sora was about to answer him when something unusual caught his eye. Something unidentifiable was sparkling in the far distance—standing perfectly still on top of the crashing waves.

“What is _that_?” he asked his friends, and Riku and Kairi turned to get a look.

“I don’t know,” Kairi said. “It’s way too far away to tell.”

“Whatever it is, it’s better than nothing,” said Riku and peeled the wet seaweed from his forehead.

The three of them leaned over the side of the raft and used their arms to paddle towards the object of interest. It was hard work and took another half hour to call it progress, but in that time they could finally see what they had happened upon out in the middle of nowhere.

“Is that what I think it is?” Kairi asked, incredulously.

“A door...” Sora said and got to his feet.

It was a non-descript wooden door framed with what seemed like light itself. The door was impossibly positioned upright on the water’s surface as if it were on solid ground. Even the waves that crashed against it couldn’t get it to budge. The trio just stared at it, seemingly at a loss for words.

“Try and open it, Riku,” Kairi finally said.

But Sora was already walking forward with his arm outstretched as if stuck in a trance. Some intangible, unseen force was pulling him towards the closed door.

“Sora, please be careful!” Kairi exclaimed, but Sora didn’t hesitate as he grabbed the door’s sleek, silver handle and pushed it down.

“It’s unlocked,” Sora told them.

Riku and Kairi looked at each other with obvious uncertainty, but joined Sora at the front of the raft all the same. They both put a supportive hand on Sora’s shoulders, and with a deep breath, Sora pushed open the door.

* * *

 

All three friends were blinded by a powerful burst of pure light as the door swung open. Sora was seemingly mesmerized by what he saw inside the magical door, and his legs slowly brought him over the sparkling threshold.

“Sora! _Wait_!” Riku called out, but neither he nor Kairi dared to let go of their friend. They grabbed Sora’s arms to keep from being separated from him and they were dragged off of their raft and through the door-- into another, darker realm.

The extraordinary light gradually faded and the trio was able to see where they had found themselves. A stained glass mosaic was outspread under their feet. The perfect blue sky had been replaced by an unnatural blackness and yet they could still see each other as if it were still sunny. Riku spun in place to check on the raft, but the door that had brought them here had inexplicably vanished.

They were all stranded in this unexplainable alternate dimension.

“Sora…!” Kairi gasped. “What just happened?”

Sora stepped forward and his friends’ hands fell away from him.

“I think we found it,” Sora exclaimed. He twirled back to look at his friends with a big, excited smile on his face. “We found another world!”

Then there was a sudden, violent rumbling that shook the floor beneath them. Both Sora and Kairi tumbled onto Riku—who kept his balance the best—and clung to him so they wouldn’t fall.

Three massive grey platforms ascended out of the kaleidoscopic floor with otherworldly items floating on top of them. The floor wasn’t broken or even disturbed by the event, and kept its solidity as Kairi wandered towards one of the podiums.

Kairi reached out and took hold of the staff floating in front of her. The staff was green and non-descript, but what caught Kairi’s attention was the blue focal gem at the end of it.

“Is this gem supposed to be… a mouse?” she wondered as she held the weapon in both hands.

Riku roamed to an identical platform and took up the shield that was magically suspended above it.

“This shield has the same thing on it,” he said and slid its leather straps up his forearm to test the fit.

Sora found his way to the last podium and claimed the sword on it for himself. He held it in his hands deferentially and noticed the same strange mouse head symbol emblazoned on its hilt.

“What is this place?” Sora thought aloud. “And why did these weapons appear for us?”

“Maybe they _weren’t_ for us,” Kairi answered, doubt creeping its way into her voice.

But they didn’t have any more time to question their circumstances before another powerful rumbling sent shockwaves through the ground. Sora thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him as the darkness in front of the platform was disturbed like ink being spun in an inkwell.

But it wasn’t the darkness itself that was rising—towering—above them.

It was a creature born from the darkness.

Sora and Kairi stumbled away from the black creature as it rose twenty—thirty—fifty feet above their heads. Riku planted himself like a tree and raised his shield as Sora and Kairi positioned themselves behind him with their own weapons drawn.

“That monster,” Riku told them through gritted teeth. “It’s from my dream.”

Sora could feel Kairi trembling beside him.

“What do we do now?” she asked Riku. “What happened in your dream?”

Riku lowered his stance, exuding both confidence and readiness.

“We fight it,” he said. “ _Together_.”

The monster gave an inhuman roar and reared back a massive arm. Kairi felt Riku brace for impact as the massive appendage came barreling towards them.

“Riku!” Sora screamed and roughly grappled his friend in a bear hug around the waist.

Without a moment to spare, Sora tackled Riku out of the monster’s path, and the two of them collided with the ground. Kairi ducked with her hands covering her head as the attack barely missed her—with a burst of tornadic force-- by mere inches. Sora and Riku groaned in unison on the ground—caught in a tangle of limbs.

The dark creature gave a sound of frustration from deep in its chest and reared back with its other arm-- its full attention on Kairi. She gave a small gasp as the arm rocketed towards her, and she only had enough time to think of one necessary truth: _I have to stop it._

Kairi widened her stance and held her new staff at the ready in both hands. And as the arm was sweeping towards her for an attack, she felt a bright energy radiating straight from her heart.

“STOP!” she yelled, and that magic energy from deep inside her was directed down her arms and through her staff.

In an instant, the monster’s dark arm was snagged in midair and froze in place. Kairi could hardly believe her eyes.

“Sora!” she called out to him. “Now’s your chance!”

Sora knew that Kairi was right and dragged himself off of Riku. He jumped to his feet with a motivated shout and took off towards the creature’s captured arm at full speed. He poised his sword for attack and lashed out at the monster in a flurry of quick, unremitting blows. When the spell broke in a loud bang of light, a white crack cleaved its way up the monster’s arm, and it gave a horrified, inhuman roar of fear. Sora watched in awe—back-stepping to group up with his friends—as the crack widened and expanded across their adversary’s body like a fracture in a sheet of black ice. The crevasse spread across their enemy’s chest, down its other arm, over its giant torso, and across its monstrous face. And then, like a felled tree, it toppled towards them.

Sora and Riku both acted on their instincts and ran to Kairi. They held her hands and they all huddled together for protection as the creature collided with the stained glass beneath them. On impact, the floor shattered in a million dazzling shards and exploded around them into a ruin of rainbows.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi held on tight to the hands of their two friends as they fell, and each of them heard a distant voice before the darkness completely swallowed them:

_Don’t be afraid. You are the ones who will open the door._


	3. A Chance to Return a Favor

Sora turned over in bed and hugged his pillow. It was soft and smelled freshly laundered, but when he took a deep breath he couldn’t detect his mother’s paopu-scented detergent. He flipped onto his back-- realizing in a horrible moment that his entire body was hurting—and blinked away his exhaustion. Turning his head to the side, he saw that Kairi was sleeping in an identical bed beside him.  

“Kairi…” he weakly called out to her. More than anything, he was relieved to see that she was alright.

Then he realized as he looked around that he wasn’t in his bedroom at all. He groaned into a sitting position and saw that the small room he was in was completely unfamiliar to him. The paneling was made of polished gold and the furniture didn’t have any of the beachy flair that was the trademark of his island.

“It’s alright; you’re safe now,” said a voice, and Sora spun around to find the source of it.

A fierce-looking woman with pink hair was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. She wore what looked to be casual fighting attire, complete with shoulder guards and a red cape. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she reclined in her chair as if she had been watching him for quite some time.

Question after question buzzed in Sora’s mind like an angry hive of bees—each one more demanding than the last. But he settled on the one that mattered the most:

“Where’s Riku?”

The woman didn’t answer him at first, just considered his question in silence. Then she gave a tired sigh.

“Your friend went into town with my companions about an hour ago,” she explained. “They should be back soon.”

Sora was startled to full attention when the stranger suddenly stood up from her chair and walked towards a blue table in the middle of the room. He hadn’t noticed it before, but in that moment he spotted an impressive-looking sword strapped to her side. She opened a small chest on the table in front of her and pulled out a flask filled with sparkly green liquid.

“My name is Lightning Farron,” she told him. “I found the three of you in the shopping district—beaten and unconscious. You looked like you could use some help.”

Sora tried to think back, and memories of their encounter with the black monster in the hidden world slowly came back to him. He shivered at the thought of it.

“We were attacked,” he said, “by some sort of…”

Sora’s voice trailed, at a loss of words for what they had confronted behind the door. Lightning brought the mysterious flask to his bedside, her cape flapping around her ankles as she walked.

“Heartless,” she said for him, popping the cork of the flask. “They’re called Heartless.”

Lightning handed Sora the flask and a strange smell from the viscous liquid inside of it wafted up to meet him.

“It’s a potion,” she told him. “It’ll make you feel better.”

The stern tone of Lightning’s voice left little room for argument so Sora brought it to his lips and emptied the thing in one swig. He gave a refreshed sigh and the pain in his body quickly faded.

“There,” said Lightning. “You’re looking better already.”

Sora gave her a thankful smile and it occurred to him how lucky it was that it was Lightning that had found them instead of another monster.

“Sora?”

The sudden voice captured Sora’s attention, and he turned to see Kairi sitting upright in her bed.

“Kairi!” Sora exclaimed, his voice tight with relief. “Thank goodness you’re alright!”

Kairi held her head, obviously not sure of what was going on any more than Sora had when he had first woken up.

“Where… Where are we?” she groggily asked.

"You’re in Traverse Town, of course,” Lightning answered her with an air of confusion. “Is that not where you were headed? Did you get lost in your ship?”

“It’s… not really a ship,” Sora sheepishly admitted. “It’s really more of a raft.”

That exaggerated the spark of confusion across Lightning’s features.

“A _raft_?” she gasped.

Then a door leading to the outside was kicked open with a cacophonous boom. Lightning instinctively went for her sword, but when she saw that it was only a group of friendly faces, her posture went more relaxed.

A tall, broad-shouldered man with a shock of blond hair and a girl who looked suspiciously like Lightning if she were younger and more petite entered the room. The man had a giant treasure chest hoisted on one of his shoulders and a giant smile spread across his face.

“We got the supplies that you wanted, Lightning,” announced the man, and he dropped the chest onto the floor with a crash.

“Can’t you just once open the door like a normal person?” asked Lightning through gritted teeth. “I was _this_ close to attacking you.”

The girl by the man’s side just smiled sweetly.

“Sorry, sis,” she said. “He’s just a little excited about what we bought during our shopping trip.”

“Hey! The rest of the kids are awake!” laughed the man. He eagerly approached the bed and held a hand out to Sora. “I’m Snow. This is Serah. And I'm guessing you’ve already met Lightning.”

Then Snow gave Sora an attractive, friendly wink.

Sora smiled despite himself and shook Snow’s hand.

“I’m Sora,” he said. “And this is Kairi.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” said Serah as she, too, approached him with a welcoming wave.

Riku finally emerged through the front door with the shield that he had found still strapped to his forearm. His swimming attire had been switched out for something more appropriate—a blue-and-yellow fighter’s outfit with more buckles and zippers than Sora could count.

Riku smiled when he saw his friends sitting up in their beds.

“Hey,” he called to them. “I’m glad you’re both feeling better.”

Kairi smiled back at him. “Right back at you, Riku.”

“We had to fight some of those Heartless on the way back,” Snow told Lightning “They’ve grown in numbers since we arrived on this world, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle.”

Lightning considered that information with a worried crease between her bright blue eyes.

“There has to be a way to stop the Heartless at their source,” she thought aloud. “Just fighting them individually is getting us nowhere.”

“There’s more than one of those terrible monsters here?” asked Kairi, her voice pitchy with distress.

“The ones here are smaller,” Riku reassured her. “We didn’t come across any Heartless as big as the one that we fought behind that door.”

“What can we do to help?” Sora asked Lightning, and she looked at him with a new look of surprise that quickly transformed into stern disapproval.

“We don’t need any help,” she said with obvious deprecation. “Snow, Serah, and I can take care of things in Traverse Town by ourselves.”

“Could've fooled me,” Riku snarkily said. “How long have the three of you been here, anyway? This is the only district left that hasn’t been overrun by those things.”

Lightning shot the silver-haired boy an angry glower, but Riku didn’t flinch.

“We’re _working on it_ ,” said Lightning quite matter-of-factly. “It didn’t exactly help that we had to nurse three lost kids back to health in the meantime.”

“That’s not fair, sis,” said Serah. “Riku took down just as many Heartless as we did on our way back. It’s not their fault that they ended up in Traverse Town.”

“The kid said that they went through a door in the middle of the ocean,” said Snow. “And then somehow, along the way, they ended up here. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Lightning went quiet at that, deep in thought about what that could mean. Then, like an earthquake ripping through the town, the building that they were in shook down to its very foundation. Serah grabbed onto Snow with a frightened shout, and Lightning anxiously looked around as rubble from the ceiling rained down from the rafters. And as soon as it started, the rumbling stopped, leaving everyone in the room wondering what had just happened.

“That can’t be good,” said Sora.

And before Sora could throw the blanket off of himself, Lightning unsheathed her sword with a flourish.

“No, it’s never good,” she said in a world-weary drawl. “Come on, Snow, Serah… We have work to do.”

“What?!” Riku blurted out. “You can’t just leave us here! What if you need our help?”

“We won’t,” Lightning said, passing her companions as she headed for the door. “Just stay here and rest. You need to get your strength back before we take you home.”

“But we can fight!” Kairi insisted, her fists balled up with enthusiasm. “We took down a giant Heartless all by ourselves! Whatever was able to shake the ground like that has to be really bad news! You’ll need all the help you can get!”

Lightning hesitated at the door and Sora took the opportunity to get in one last word.

“Please, Lightning,” he said. “You helped us. Now it’s time for us to help you.”

There was a beat of unsure silence, and then Lightning gave a compromising sigh.

“Get your weapons and stock up on potions from the chest,” she told them. “And whatever you do, don’t hold us back.”


	4. An Unwanted Responsibility

“That looks fantastic, Sora!” exclaimed Kairi.

“Not bad at all,” Riku said.

“Hm,” muttered Serah. “Needs more belts.”

“And zippers,” Snow agreed.

Lightning was leaning against a wall of the First District clothing store with her arms firmly crossed over her chest. Nothing would have made her happier than to leave the others here while she took care of the looming threat in Traverse Town on her own, but an irritating sense of personal responsibility for the group kept her rooted to the spot.

Sora had walked out of the dressing room in a new red-white-and-blue outfit with bright yellow shoes. He stood in front of a full-length mirror and inspected his reflection with observable approval. Kairi was already standing off to the side in a new, durable pink-and-white battle dress and matching purple shoes. The two kids continued to complement each other’s choice of clothing as Lightning quickly lost what little patience she had in her.

“Great, can we go now?” Lightning called out to them in a louder voice than necessary.

“Yeah, absolutely,” said Snow. “We just have to pay the—“

“ _Here_.”

Lightning withdrew a large bag of munny from a knapsack hanging at her side and dropped it onto the counter in front of the cashier. A handful of shiny, golden currency spilled from the bag and rolled onto the floor. It was clearly more than enough to pay for Kairi and Sora’s new battle outfits.

An older blond man with goggles on his head blinked in surprise at Lightning’s overcompensation.

“Dang,” the blond cashier said in a thickly accented voice. “That’s some deep pockets you got there, little lady. I’ve got something just your style in the back if you—“

“Not interested,” Lightning flatly said and turned on her heel with a flourish of her cape.

Snow and Serah gave each other an anxious look and hurried after Lightning. The Destiny Islands Trio trailed closely behind them. When the party stepped outside, the cool, nighttime air greeted them with a gentle breeze. Sora glanced up at the stars and was surprised to see one of them blink out of existence—like a candle in the wind.

“Hey,” he said. “That star… It was there one moment and…”

“Gone the next,” Serah sadly finished for him.

Sora, Kairi, and Riku turned to look at her with concern shining bright in their eyes.

“Serah?” Kairi called out to her. "What's wrong?”

Kairi walked over to Serah and put a supportive hand on her shoulder. Serah looked like the gesture was nearly enough to bring her to tears.

“Our home,” Snow answered for her in a hard, aggrieved voice. “It disappeared shortly after the heartless arrived. We couldn’t save it.” His hands tightened into fists at his side. “We couldn’t…”

Snow’s voice trailed, and Sora, Kairi, and Riku all looked at each other with shared, worried expressions. An unspoken truth hung unspoken between them: Destiny Islands was now in danger of facing the same unfortunate end.

“Bodhum,” Serah said, her voice shaking with regret. “Bodhum was our home… until those monsters caused the darkness to swallow it. We tried to stop it, but--”

“But we didn’t,” said Lightning in a strangely blasé tone. Her matter-of-fact attitude was enough to send Snow over the edge.

“Can’t you bring yourself to experience a single emotion other than anger or indifference?” he snapped back at her. “Just for one second?!”

“Emotions aren’t going bring back Bodhum—or any of the other worlds taken by the heartless,” she said, glaring back at him. But then her expression softened into something much more compromising. “Bodhum is gone, and there’s nothing we can do to bring it back. But we _can_ save _this_ world. _Together_.”

An insightful silence followed and Serah silently wiped away her tears.

“Lightning’s right,” Riku said. “We can still prevent what happened to Bodhum from happening to Traverse Town. There’s still time.”

“It’s not over ‘til it’s over,” Snow decided. He even managed a smile as he joined Kairi in comforting Serah. “We’ll save this world from the heartless, no matter what.”

Then another ominous rumble shook the ground under their feet. In the far distance, the enormous bell tower tolled three loud rings that echoed throughout the town.

“The Second District,” said Lightning, resolutely, and she withdrew her gunblade from its sheath with a twist of her wrist.

The dangerous glint in her eyes showed that she was more than ready to fight whatever was waiting for them on the other side of town.

“Come on," she said. "Let’s get moving.”

The party followed Lightning towards a giant, wooden door that separated the two districts. And with an unshakable feeling of unease, Sora glanced over his shoulder—back at the starry sky. Any one of those stars could be his home… or none of them, if they were already too late.

Sora’s grip tightened on the hilt of his sword.

‘ _Just hold on_ ,’ he thought, his heart calling out to Destiny Islands. ‘ _We’ll come back for you soon. I promise._ ”


	5. A Battle for Traverse Town

All of the heartless seemed to leave the ragtag group of fighters completely alone as they traveled through the Third District of Traverse Town. Not much was said between the six of them until Kairi nervously approached Lightning.

“Thank you, Lightning,” she quietly said. “For buying those new clothes that Sora and I picked out in the First District. You didn’t have to do that and yet—“

“You would have slowed us down in battle if you two were stuck in school clothes and swimwear.” Lightning didn’t even spare Kairi a passing glance as she said it.

Kairi went even quieter at that. “I suppose you’re right,” she muttered, and then she let slip a small smile. “But it was still a nice thing to do.”

Lightning glared straight ahead-- her hands tightening into fists at her sides-- and quickened her pace so that she was several yards away from the rest of the party. Kairi tried to save face and hide her dejection, but Riku was there to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t take it personally,” he told her in a soft voice. “Snow told me that she’s dealing with more troubles than just the heartless. He said that she’s something called a l'Cie and that she needs to travel to other worlds to ‘find her Focus’… whatever that means. Apparently, if she doesn’t find it--”

“She’ll turn into a monster.”

Serah had joined up with the two kids as they approached the door to the Second District. The uncharacteristic, austere tone in her voice caught both Riku and Kairi off guard, and neither of them knew how to respond it.

“We’ve nearly reached the bell tower,” Serah said, effectively changing the subject. “This is the door that connects the Second and Third Districts.”

Sora and Snow had been talking and laughing about moogles near the back of the pack, but fell silent as the door came into view. It was time to deal with whatever heartless was terrorizing this world.

“Ready whenever you are, sis,” Serah called out and retrieved an elegant bowsword that had been strapped to her back.

“Yeah,” Snow said and punched his fists together. “Let’s show those freaks what happens when they mess with Bodhum.”

Lightning looked over her shoulder and gave the group a supportive nod. Then she withdrew her gunblade from its sheath with a flourish and pushed open the door.

* * *

 

Lightning had expected an ambush, but no heartless came to greet them at the side entrance of the Second District.

Serah had expected the place to be in ruins, but the various shops and hotels were still seemingly untouched by the heartless.

And Snow had expected that the kids would have run back home with their tails between their legs by now, but Sora, Riku, and Kairi were all still present with their new weapons at the ready.

The group stepped into the empty courtyard as a unit and gradually lowered their guard.

“Well, that was a let-down,” said Snow and rubbed at the nape of his neck.

“There’s the bell tower,” Kairi announced and pointed up towards the gizmo shop on the south side of the district.

The five other party members turned to look up at the massive tower, but nothing seemed amiss.

“Do you think the heartless is still up there?” Sora asked no one in particular.

And as if it were on cue, a bout of loud, cackling laughter came from the atop the bell tower. A dark, female figure armed with a large staff approached the ledge and her long, black dress spilled out around her.

“Such a perceptive boy,” said the stranger, and her voice easily carried throughout the open area.

Two soldier heartless and two shadow heartless emerged from portals of pure darkness in the ground to stand at the woman’s guard.

“I don’t know who you are!” Serah yelled at the newcomer. “But we’re going to stop you and the heartless from taking over Traverse Town!”

The woman just gave a horrible, evil laugh in response.

“Unfortunately,” she said, raising her staff to the heavens. “You’re too late.”

There was a terrible crash of metal hitting the ground behind them, and everyone spun in place to see a towering, armored heartless looming over them. Snow instinctively moved in front of the rest of the party with his arms defensively outstretched and glared at the giant heartless.

“I can sense that a princess of heart is among you,” said the mysterious woman from the safety of her perch. “And I will capture the one among you with a heart of pure light.”

“Princess of heart?” Sora wondered aloud, his head spinning with this new information.

He’d never heard of such a thing. They didn’t have princesses on Destiny Islands, let alone princesses with pure hearts made of light.

“You monster!” Lightning yelled and leaped towards the woman with her gunsword at the ready.

“Lightning!” Snow angrily called after her, but Lightning was already rocketing towards her target with single-minded fury.

Lightning’s adversary didn’t flinch at the unexpected attack, and when Lightning was within arm’s reach, the strange woman vanished in a wash of absolute darkness. Lightning landed on the balcony where the woman had disappeared and swore under her breath. Then she lashed out at the heartless that had been left behind with her gunsword, cutting them down to nothing in a matter of seconds.

Serah’s terrified screams rang out as the armored heartless took her up in one massive hand.

“Serah!” Kairi called out to her new friend, but shortly afterwards another armored hand scooped her up as well.

Kairi gave a shriek as she pushed against the hand holding on to her, but it didn’t budge. All the two girls could do was wriggle helplessly in the heartless’ unrelenting grip.

“ _Kairi_!” Sora and Riku screamed together, and then they shared a meaningful glance and an earnest nod.

They had to work together if they were going to rescue their friends from the heartless.

“No…” Lightning muttered under her breath when she saw the scene unfolding before her. “ _No_!”

With another burst of speed, Lightning kicked off from the balcony and made a swiping motion with her hand once she was within range of the heartless.

“ _Ruin_!”

Lightning's magic took hold, and the armored heartless shuddered from the spell. Lightning then fell lithely on the balls of her feet and straightened her posture with her gunblade in hand.

“Snow!” she exclaimed. “Snap out of it! Serah needs you!”

Snow was seemingly in shock, and he shook his head to regain his senses.

“Yeah… Right…” he said, clearly rattled.

The blond fighter took the opportunity to deal a devastating punch to the heartless’ armored torso. The heartless slid back-- its feet carving out a path of cobblestones in its wake—but otherwise it was seemingly unaffected by the attack.

“We need to help them,” said Riku. “I have your back, Sora.”

Sora kicked off with his sword at the ready, and the two boys advanced on the heartless with rallying war cries. The heartless kicked out at them, but Riku knocked the giant foot away with his shield. Sora took the chance to deal a flurry of blows on the heartless’ leg with his sword.

“ _Ruin_!” Lightning tried again with another dynamic gesture, and the heartless shuddered again.

“It think that weakens it!” Riku said. “Jump off my shield and go for the head! I’ll give you a boost!”

Sora nodded and sprinted towards his friend. Riku positioned the front of his shield, and boosted Sora up with a herculean push. Sora was thrown into the air and landed, teetering on the heartless’ fist next to Kairi. Before he could fall back to the ground, Kairi grabbed onto his wrist and gave him a smile.

“I’ve got you, Sora!” she happily exclaimed. “You can do it! I’ll use my magic to help!”

Sora gave her an enthusiastic nod and readied himself to jump again.

“ _Stop_!” Kairi commanded with her magic, and her staff drew on the power in her heart again.

The armored heartless’ head was frozen in place, and Serah readied her bowsword. With a furious yell, Serah let loose an arrow and it found its mark against the heartless’ forehead.

“Your turn, Sora!” Serah told him. “Give it all you’ve got!”

Sora didn’t hesitate. He leaped from the heartless’ fist and with an ear-piercing shout he brought the blade of his sword across its helmeted face.

Snow kicked off at a sprint, and when Sora fell heavily towards the ground, he was there to catch him. Sora landed in his arms with a grunt and the first thing he saw was Snow’s contagious smile.

“Didn’t think this far ahead, did you, kid?” Snow teased him.

Sora sheepishly laughed. “I guess not.”

“Look!” Lightning said, pointing up at the heartless.

A deep crack fractured its thick armor from the point where Serah had hit it with an arrow. The fracture cobwebbed down its arms and across its chest. Serah and Kairi were released from its grip and fell to the ground squarely on their feet. The group watched in awe as the heartless exploded in a burst of both light and darkness, leaving nothing in its wake except for a lone heart that magically flew out of view. Everyone was left winded and speechless at what had just happened.

“We… We did it!” Sora finally announced. “We saved Traverse Town!”

“Not yet,” said Snow, lowering the boy to the ground.

Sora turned to look at what Snow was talking about and quickly saw a giant keyhole in a nearby fountain. He blinked away his confusion and walked towards it.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s the keyhole to this world,” Serah answered him and joined him at the fountain. “But we don’t have the key to close it.”

“The door to darkness will stay open and heartless will continue to ravage Traverse Town,” Lightning groaned. “It was all for nothing.”

Riku and Kairi went to Sora’s side with their accomplishment against the armored heartless withering like overripe paopu fruit on a summer vine.

“There has to be something we can do,” Kairi said.

“We can’t just leave it like this,” Riku attested. “The heartless will just return and Traverse Town will be overtaken by the darkness.”

“Just like Bodhum,” said Serah sadly.

The three kids all looked miserably at Serah and then back at each other.

They wouldn’t leave it like this.

They _couldn’t_.

Not knowing what else to do, Kairi closed her eyes and called on the magic that had helped her in the past. Sora and Riku followed her lead and closed their eyes as well.

‘ _We can’t give up now_ ,’ thought Sora. ‘ _We can’t let the darkness win_.’

‘ _This town needs us_ ,’ Kairi thought. ‘ _We need something to close the keyhole_.’

‘ _We’ll keep on fighting if we have to_ ,’ thought Riku. “ _We won’t stop until these other worlds are safe from the heartless_.’

Then a ray of light emanated from Kairi’s chest—right over her heart. The same light came from Sora and Riku as well, and their weapons were bathed in pure light. When the light faded, the three saw that their weapons had been transformed into keyblades.

Sora’s was grey-and-yellow—non-descript but undeniably strong: Kingdom Key.

Kairi’s was made of gold and laden with beautiful flowers—slim and elegant with magical power to spare: Destiny's Embrace.

Riku’s was jagged and red—fearsome and dark with hidden potential: Way to the Dawn.

The three keyblade bearers brandished their new weapons, pointing them towards the shimmering keyhole. The keyblades all reacted to the simple gesture, and bright bursts of light shot from the ends of their keyblades, through the keyhole, and into the core of the world itself. There was the sound of a door locking up tight and the keyhole flickered out of existence.

Traverse Town was safe.

Sora, Kairi, and Riku all gave relieved sighs and then laughed their nervousness away.

“Well, would you look at that,” Lightning said with a begrudging smile. “Keyblades.”

“ _Three_ of them,” said Snow and held his head in utter surprise.

Sora just blinked back at them and looked down at his Kingdom Key in wonder.

“Keyblades?” asked Kairi. “You mean…?”

“We can seal away the darkness with them,” Riku said for her. “With these, we can protect other worlds from the heartless.”

Lightning returned her gunblade to her sheath and got a misty look in her eyes.

“You’re soldiers of the light now,” she said. “The keyblades have chosen you.”

“Unbelievable,” said Serah. “You know, I’m kind of jealous.”

Snow put an arm around Serah's shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

“I’m just glad that you’re alright,” Snow told her.

Kairi pondered something for a moment, her excitement slowly ebbing away.

“Serah, are you a princess of heart?” she asked her. “That awful woman from before said that a princess of heart was among us… Someone with a heart of pure light.”

Serah just shook her head.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t think that I am.”

“Maybe it was a mistake,” said Riku. “That crazy woman didn’t seem like she was playing with a full deck.”

“Let’s talk it over later,” Lightning said. “Right now we need to get you back home.”

Sora suddenly remembered the giant heartless that they fought beyond the door. If that door was left open then the Destiny Islands were in big trouble.

“Yeah,” he said and turned to Riku and Kairi. “Come on, guys. Let’s go home.”


	6. A Surprise Gift

The group returned to the First District with a shared sense of optimism among the six of them. They hadn’t seen a single heartless lurking about since they closed the keyhole that led to the heart of Traverse Town. And the kids were still riding the high of their victory all the way to the Accessory Shop.

“Next stop, Destiny Islands!” Sora announced, holding up his keyblade triumphantly.

Riku chuckled at him. “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he said. “Just because you and Kairi slept in like a couple of lumps on a log.”

“Hey!” Kairi was eager to retort. “Don’t be jealous just because we got more beauty sleep than you.”

“Yeah,” Sora agreed with a sly smirk. “Judging from the circles under your eyes, Riku, it looks like you could have used some of that beauty sleep.”

The two boys got into a playful shoving match, laughing all the while.

“Wait! _Wait_! You there!”

The party turned to see who was calling out to them as they stood outside the Accessory Shop. It was an old man in blue robes and a matching wizard’s hat. Lightning went for her gunblade, but Serah put a hand on her sister’s arm to keep the peace. The stranger hobbled up to the group with his long, grey beard flowing behind him. Then he leaned on his knees to catch his labored breath.

“Oh, blast it all!” the strange man muttered to himself. “It seems I’m not as spry as I used to be.”

“Hey, mister,” Riku hesitantly said. “You’ve got something stuck in your…”

Riku pointed to the man’s tall wizard hat—or more specifically, the grey sock sticking out of the rim of it. The bumbling stranger glanced up, felt for the abnormality, and forcefully threw the sock to the ground.

Snow couldn’t help but chortle at the display, and Serah elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“Is there something you needed us for, your elderliness?” Lightning asked, obviously losing patience with the man’s bizarre performance.

That made the man’s moustache quirk with stark disapproval.

“ _Elderliness_?” he spat. “I’ll have you know, young lady, that I am _Merlin_! Wizard extraordinaire! Teacher to the great King Arthur! Master of--!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lightning sighed. “But why did you tell us to stop?”

Merlin blinked away his anger in a fraction of a second.

“Ah, yes,” he said in a much calmer register. “I had to give you this before you left Traverse Town.” Then he began twirling his hands in front of him and dancing in place like a mad person.

Lightning and Snow gave each other dubious looks as the kids watched on in awe.

“Higitus Figitus zumbabazing!” Merlin shouted. “Show yourself, you old battered thing!”

And in a puff of smoke, a thick book popped into existence and landed in Merlin’s expectant hands. The wizard nearly crumpled under the tome’s weight, and Kairi rushed forward to share the load.

“It’s okay,” she told him. “I’ve got it.”

“Ah, thank you, child,” Merlin told her and fixed his crooked spectacles. “I would expect nothing less from the person who saved Traverse Town from that horrible woman, Maleficent.”

Sora crossed his arms and gave a small pout. “Hey, we helped, you know.”

“Maleficent?” Kairi asked. “You mean that woman on the clock tower?”

Merlin nodded. “Maleficent is a wicked witch who only seeks to control the heartless for her own conquests. But no match for you, clearly! I saw everything from my crystal ball, and I knew that I had to bring you this spell book. If anyone can make use of it, it’s the sorceress who brought that monstrous heartless to a standstill with such a high-level spell!”

Kairi actually blushed. “I- I’m not a sorceress,” she humbly said. “I didn’t even know I could do such a thing yesterday morning.”

“Oh, nonsense!” sputtered Merlin. “You’re far too modest. Let your greatness become you. This book will help you realize that greatness.”

Kairi turned the heavy book upright and inspected the cover. It was a leather hardback with that familiar mouse head near the top and ‘Mickey’s Book of Spells’ sprawled across the front in a big, golden, curvilinear font.

“Yes, yes, it’s yours to keep. Take care of it for me,” Merlin exclaimed and then he checked his wristwatch. “Jumping Jehosaphat! I left the kettle on at home. Goodbye now!” And with that, he poofed out of sight in a bang of white smoke, leaving everyone at a loss for words.

“Well, that was weird,” Snow finally declared.

“That’s putting it mildly,” said Serah.

Sora walked over to Kairi and saw that she was seemingly unhappy with her unexpected gift.

“That’s really cool, Kairi!” Sora told her. “Maybe it’ll help us fight the heartless back home.”

Kairi gave him a smile, but it didn’t touch her eyes.

“Yeah,” she replied, tucking the giant book under one arm. “Maybe it will.”

“Come on; we haven’t got all day,” Lightning called out to them. She was already walking towards the gigantic door that served as an exit to Traverse Town.

Riku walked alongside Kairi as the others hurried ahead.

“Don’t worry about it,” he told her. “If anyone can figure out that spell book, it’s you.”

Kairi smiled again-- with more self-assurance this time. “Thanks, Riku. It’s better than nothing, right?”

“Exactly,” Riku said. “And with all this talk of keyblades and other worlds, I think we’re going to need all the help we can get.”


	7. A Hitch in the Plan

Lightning’s ship was absolutely gorgeous. It was small enough to feel cozy but not enough for its six passengers to seem cramped. Sora openly gawked at the interior’s metallic hull.

“Does it have a name?” Riku asked as he ran his hand along a handrail.

Lightning made a beeline for the controls and began to spin the dials on its panel.

“This is a Guardian Corps fighter ship,” she answered him offhandedly. “Her name is Blue Cadet.”

“Cute name,” Kairi said. She found a large, swiveling chair off to the side and collapsed into it. “Did you name it that, Lightning?”

Snow gave a dry chuckle at that. “Guardian Corps sergeants aren’t ranked high enough to name the ships,” he laughed. “If Lightning had named it, it would have ended up with something like ‘Airship’ or ‘Just Do Your Job’.”

Lightning didn’t deny that claim out loud, but the stiff set of her shoulders gave away her annoyance.

“Boosters are hot,” Serah announced, expertly flipping a myriad switches near the front of the ship. “Blue Cadet is ready for take-off.”

"Next stop," Lightning declared, "Destiny Islands."

The ship suddenly rumbled to life, and Lightning steadied herself at the helm.

“Lift-off in 5.”

Kairi returned to her seat and the others scrambled to theirs.

“4.”

Serah found an open seat and gave her friends an encouraging thumbs-up once she was buckled in.

“3.”

Sora and Riku found a spot together and fastened their seatbelts.

“2.”

Snow let out an excited noise that filled the ship’s cabin with its joyful sound.

“1.”

Blue Cadet lurched from its port, and its occupants were thrown back into their seat by the sheer force of gravity. Sora groaned as his face rippled against the invisible power of the ship’s launch. Kairi held on tight to the spell book in her lap so it wouldn't become a dangerous projectile. Riku felt his stomach lurch and hoped he wouldn’t lose his lunch.

And then, as if it were only an amusement park ride that had run its course, the airship stabilized, and they were all cruising pleasantly through space.

“That never gets easier, does it?” Serah asked, holding on to Snow’s arm for support.

“Whoa!” Sora exclaimed as he looked out a nearby window. “Look at all the stars out there!”

"Each one of those stars is a different world," Snow told him with a dazzling smile. "Hard to believe isn't it?"

"You can take off your seatbelts now," Lightning announced to her crew. "The gravity on the ship is artificially simulated to imitate normal living conditions.”

The kids hesitantly undid their seatbelts, and Kairi stared at the cover of her new magic book for a long moment. Riku made his way over to her with an air of measured concern.

“Looks like it would take years to read that thing cover-to-cover,” he muttered.

Kairi considered that and opened it to the first page.

“This introductory passage says that I can shrink it down to a smaller size when I’m carrying it,” she told him.

Kairi carefully read the instructions and ran her hands meditatively over the pages.

“ _Mini_ ,” she commanded, and her heart brimmed with magic.

The book disappeared in a bang of white smoke, and when the smoke dissipated, the spell book was small enough to fit in the palm of Kairi’s hand.

“Wow!” Sora exclaimed and ran over to join them. “Now it’s like a keychain!”

Kairi smiled back at him. “That’s a good idea, Sora. Then I won’t have to worry about losing it.”

“I think I can help,” Serah announced, suddenly appearing at Kairi’s side, and unclipped a Moogle keychain from her bowsword.

Within just a few minutes, Serah had attached the Moogle toy onto the top of the tiny book’s spine.

“It’s so adorable!” Kairi exclaimed as she admired her new accessory. She then clipped the miniature book to her belt and gave an enthusiastic shriek. “Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, Serah!”

Kairi leapt from her seat and gave Serah a big hug. Serah laughed and returned the hug in full.

“It’s no problem at all!” she assured Kairi. “Just take good care of it, okay?”

Kairi nodded. “I will.”

**BANG!**

Everyone on board was jolted in place as the ship was thrown off balance. Then alarms sounded from various parts of the ship.

“What’s happening?” Sora asked, and his keyblade appeared in his grip.

“We’re under attack!” Lightning exclaimed. “Enemy ships have us surrounded!”

Snow bolted to the front of the ship to fully evaluate the situation, and his expression went pale at the sight of it.

“Those ships…” he gasped. “I’ve never seen anything like them!”

**BANG!**

Riku was thrown across the ship and collided with the metallic hull with a painful groan. Blue Cadet’s alarms instantly got even louder and more frequent.

“Everyone stay calm!” Lightning said, readying the weapons systems. “I’m—“

**BANG!**

The third attack ripped a gigantic hole in the side of the ship, and Kairi was hurled towards it.

“KAIRI!” Sora shouted and reached out for her.

Their fingertips brushed as Kairi went by, and as outer space swallowed her, everything went dark.


	8. A Stroke of Good Luck

Kairi rested her eyes as a warm, familiar breeze tousled her clothes and hair. The cushiony sand beneath her was just like she remembered it on Destiny Islands.

‘ _I’m back_ ,’ she thought as she slowly regained consciousness. ‘ _Maybe I never even left the islands at all_.’

But her hopeful thinking was short-lived as she opened her eyes and a hazy, unfamiliar face filled her vision. Kairi blinked away the intense sunlight and was gradually helped into a sitting position.

“Oh, thank goodness,” said the stranger. “I was sure that I had found you too late. You fell from space! I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Kairi glanced up at the young woman who was keeping her steady. She was a brown-haired girl with sun-kissed skin and loose-fitting clothes. Kairi’s gaze then drifted to her surroundings and she was surprised to see that there was no ocean in sight—only sand as far as the eye could see.

“Is… Is this another world?” Kairi asked, trying to remember the events that had brought her to this strange place.

“You’re on Jakku,” the Good Samaritan answered her. “It’s a desert planet in the Western Reaches of the galaxy’s Inner Rim.”

Kairi felt a slight headache coming on from that inexplicable answer. Or perhaps it was just the sudden, intense desert heat.

“So I’m not back home,” she lamented aloud. And then she gasped as a horrible realization struck her. “Sora! Riku!”

Kairi jumped to her feet and scanned the horizon, but there was no sign of _Blue Cadet_ or any of her passengers. A pang of loss ached in Kairi’s heart. Had she been the only one who had made it to this world? Had they just been separated or were their circumstances truly much worse? Kairi felt a rush of tears and hastily wiped them away. The helpful stranger must have recognized Kairi’s loss because she placed a hesitant but supportive hand on Kairi’s shoulder.

“My name is Rey,” she told Kairi in a compassionate voice. “I can’t very well leave you alone so close to the Sinking Fields. Come with me. I have Jawa juice and bread portions that I can share with you.”

After composing herself, Kairi turned and offered a weak smile. “My name is Kairi,” she replied. “And I’d really appreciate that, Rey.”

* * *

 

Kairi allowed Rey to lead her back to a gigantic, hollowed out vehicle that served as her home and was served a small, dented cup filled with what was apparently called Jawa juice. The Jawa juice was a lot more grainy and bland than Paopu juice—what she was used to back on Destiny Islands—and it did very little to relieve her thirst. But she drank it all nonetheless. The bread portion was just as unexciting, but once Kairi nibbled a piece of it her hunger caught up with her and she practically inhaled it.

Rey had a short, soft-bristle brush that she was using to clean a quarterstaff. Little grains of sand fell out of the weapon’s grooves as Rey meticulously scrubbed it.

“I _did_ fall from space,” Kairi told Rey as her memories slowly came back to her. “I was traveling with a group of friends on a fighter ship called _Blue Cadet_. We were attacked and I was thrown from the ship. I must have fallen down to this world shortly after that.”

“It was the strangest thing,” Rey admitted as she worked on her staff. “A fall from that far should have been devastating for you. But you sort of floated down like a feather. I saw it all happen from here. At first I thought it had to have been a mirage. But I decided to look for you anyway. It took me a while to find you out in the vast desert. There wasn’t even an impact crater to spot from a distance. Not only that, but you were completely unharmed when I finally found you.” Rey lowered her staff and brush and gave Kairi a meaningful look. “It was almost as if you had used The F—“ The next word lodged in her throat and she gently shook her head to rid herself of the thought. "Well, it doesn't matter," Rey muttered. "What matters is that those _creatures_ didn't get to you before I did. A swarm of terrible creatures arrived here only recently-- scary little crawly things that look like darkness itself and steal the hearts of people who are unlucky enough to come across them. "

Kairi felt a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. "You mean the heartless."

Rey's eyes widened at that. "The heartless?" she said as if it were the first that she'd heard of it. "What planet are they from? Naboo? Tatooine?" 

Kairi shook her head. "No," she said. "I don't think so. If a world's heart has too much darkness in it then the heartless are created from it. If the heartless have been seen on Jakku then we'll have to find a keyhole and lock it to seal away the darkness _and_ the heartless."

Rey seemed equal parts bewildered and entranced by that new information. "Seal them away?" she questioned Kairi. "With what?"

Kairi considered that and stood upright. She reached out her hand and closed her eyes to call upon the keyblade with her heart. Within moments, her golden, flowery keyblade-- Destiny's Embrace-- appeared in a burst of bright light and she held it out for Rey to see it. 

"With a keyblade," Kairi answered. "This is mine, but there are others. My friends, Sora and Riku, have keyblades, too. If we can find them then they'll help us get rid of the heartless on Jakku."

 _Before it's overtaken by darkness like Serah's home_ , Kairi thought.

Rey seemed to be putting the pieces of this puzzle together in her mind, and when she looked up at Kairi there was a glint of valiance in her dark-brown eyes.

"I won't allow Jakku to be taken by the Dark Side," she announced. "If this planet is gone then all of my waiting will be for nothing."

Rey didn't explain what she meant by that, but Kairi could tell that it was something that was very important to Rey. And that was enough of an explanation for her.

"I'll help you save Jakku, Rey," she said. "We'll stop the heartless. I promise."

Rey gave Kairi a determined look and and earnest nod. “If your friends pulled off the same floaty trick that you did," she told Kairi, "then they’re most likely at Niima Outpost. If you want, we can go there together."

Kairi’s heart soared at that wonderful news. “You mean it?” she excitedly exclaimed. The thought of finding Sora and Riku again filled her with absolute jubilation. “Yes! Yes, I’d love to go with you! Thank you so much!”

Rey seemed to lighten up at the sight of Kairi’s enthusiasm. It was almost as if this reclusive young woman hadn’t had a friendly conversation like this in quite some time. Rey attached her quarterstaff to the straps on her back and pulled herself to her feet. “Alright, then. Let’s get going, Kairi.”


	9. A Friend or Foe

Riku sat at the bar of the strangest restaurant that he had ever visited in his life. People with gills and fins—multiple eyes and arms—skin colors ranging from blue and green to colors that he couldn’t even identify—surrounded him. The attendants of the shady restaurant were all loud and obnoxiously rowdy. Everyone in attendance spoke languages that were more like clicks and shrieks than actual pronounceable words. But it was the first place that he could find on this new, outlandish world that didn’t seem immediately dangerous.

“You’d better pay for something before you leave, _wermo_ ,” the gigantic, blob-like alien behind the bar told Riku. “This ain’t a bed and breakfast.”

Riku didn’t bother responding to the barkeep. He didn’t even look up from his glass of free water. And just as Riku downed his meager drink, a particularly unruly patron bumped into him. It nearly knocked him off his stool, and Riku lost himself to anger.

“Hey!” he shouted. “Watch where you’re going, creep!”

But before he could get another word out, two massive hands grabbed him roughly by the shirt and lifted him off his wooden stool. An ugly, red-eyed, inhuman face filled his vision and growled something in a language that Riku didn’t understand. And in moments, Riku found himself being launched from the restaurant and tumbling into the street by the ill-mannered ruffian. Riku groaned and pulled himself upright, tenderly rubbing his shoulder that was now sore from the impact. All of the passersby on the sidewalk just walked right past him, not giving him a second thought.

‘ _Lots of real nice people on this world_ ,’ he thought sarcastically to himself. ‘ _I’ll have to remember to never come back_.’

After about an hour of walking down the crowded streets without making eye contact with the locals, the sun had begun to set. And panic slowly set in as Riku realized that this unfamiliar world would only become more dangerous as night fell. The heartless might even return if he was exceptionally unlucky. But as he looked up on a whim, he saw a bright, flashing sign. It read in several languages (only one of them legible to Riku): Coruscant Travel Center. And a big red arrow on the sign pointed down a dimly-lit alleyway. Riku scowled at the suspicious passageway but shortly afterwards gave a heavy sigh of resignation.

‘ _I have to find my friends_ ,’ he thought. ‘ _And it looks like that’s the best chance that I have right now_.’

Riku trudged down the dark alleyway—past a smelly dumpster and a fire escape ladder—and was startled when he saw a menacing figure in a large, black cape blocking the backstreet’s exit. He couldn’t see the person’s face past a shiny, black helmet. Riku gulped, one hand still supporting his injured shoulder, and forced himself to look unafraid as he marched forward.

“Get out of the way,” Riku bravely called out. “I don’t have the time or patience to deal with you.”

“Or the power,” said the stranger quite matter-of-factly. “But I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to recruit you as an apprentice.”

Riku scowled at the mysterious stranger. The man was dressed from head to toe in black and seemed to have been lying in wait for him. The thought of it made Riku’s skin crawl and he felt a bead of sweat run down his face despite the cool night air.

“I’m not interested,” Riku growled. “I just want to find my friends.”

The caped person took a bold step forward and Riku instinctively took a step back.

“I can sense the darkness in your heart,” said the stranger as he reached out a black-gloved hand to Riku. “You try to keep it hidden, but nothing stays hidden from me.”

Riku took another apprehensive step backwards but his face was masked with anger.

“You don’t know anything about me,” Riku snarled. “Least of all, what’s in my heart.”

“The darkness in your heart is what will help you find your friends,” the mysterious person responded. “It holds great power. And I can show you how to control that power.”

Riku glanced at the ground in thought. Could he really find Sora and Kairi all on his own? Would he even be able to survive the night on this dangerous, eccentric world without help? He raised his chin and made a snap decision.

“Who are you?” Riku demanded. “Tell me your name.”

The stranger considered that and reached up to remove his helmet. With a pneumatic hiss, the helmet revealed the face of a young man with eyes as black and bottomless as darkness itself.

“My name is Kylo Ren,” he announced. “Master of the Knights of Ren.”

Riku gave a dry laugh at that. “Knights of Ren?” he mocked. “I only see one of you. And you don’t look like a knight to me.”

Kylo Ren’s eyes narrowed at that and in a dynamic motion he retrieved a hilt from his belt. With a dramatic flourish there was a powerful sound of the weapon being activated and a red laser extended from it like the blade of a sword. The entire alleyway was suddenly bathed in the dark red light of Kylo Ren’s lightsaber and Riku felt his fear slowly turning to fascination at the sight of it. Riku locked eyes with Kylo Ren and showily reached out his hand.

Way to Dawn— the intimidating, black-and-red keyblade-- appeared in a burst of darkness and fell into Riku’s grip. A look of surprise flashed across Kylo Ren’s face for just a second before going back to a foreboding scowl.

“You’re not the only one with a cool sword,” Riku smirked at him. “Now turn around and walk away or I might do something we’ll both regret.”

Kylo Ren considered that and stood straight with his red lightsaber in hand. His new stance could hardly even be called a defensive one as he stared down Riku from several paces away.

“I have a better idea,” Kylo Ren said. “You will come with me— willing or not.” And he waved his free hand in an aggressive motion.

Riku swooned at the gesture as if he’d been bludgeoned upside the head. His body suddenly went heavy and he saw Kylo Ren advancing on him as his mind began to shut down.

This wasn't just a trap... It was a kidnapping.

It was the last thing that Riku realized in that horrible moment.

“ _Sora... Kairi…_ ” Riku whispered his last desperate thoughts before he completely lost consciousness.


	10. A Hot and Cold Encounter On Jakku

Sora groaned from a pounding headache, and when he closed his fist it filled with hot sand. A poignant pang of nostalgia filled him up along with a relieving sense of accomplishment.

‘ _I’m back home,_ ’ he thought. ‘ _Now I can save Destiny Islands._ ’

But his thoughts were interrupted by a loud, worried voice from not far away. Sora pulled himself to his hands and knees and when he cracked open his eyes he gasped. The burning wreckage of a space ship was stone’s throw away from where he had woken up and Sora was instantly reminded of the horrible events that had just happened on _Blue Cadet_.

“Snow?” he called out to the voice. “Is that you?”

When he didn’t receive an answer, Sora forced his aching body to stand and ran to help.

“Snow, are you okay?” Sora called out. “Where did—“

Sora’s voice abandoned him when he saw someone in a strange suit of white armor and a matching helmet. The apparent solider was yanking a brown jacket off of the wrecked ship, and Sora slowly realized that it hadn’t been _Blue Cadet_ , after all.

‘Just how hard did I hit my head when I fell?’ Sora wondered as none of the pieces of his situation seemed to fit together with his jumbled memories.

Suddenly, the armored person slipped into the sand and immediately began to sink. The rippling tides of hot sand slowly began to drag the boy down and the desert’s unfortunate victim gave out a series of terrified shouts.

“Hold on!” Sora yelled. “I’ll help you!”

Sora kicked off at a run and nearly slipped into the quicksand pit in his enthusiasm to help the stranger. He hastily corrected his footing and called upon Kingdom Key—his new keyblade—with a silent, heartfelt plea. The keyblade instantly appeared in his hand and Sora wasted no time holding it out to the struggling boy.

“Hey!” Sora yelled. “Grab on! I’ll pull you out!”

The armored boy snapped his chin up and even though Sora couldn’t see his face he could tell that he was terrified from his heavy, panicked breathing.

“This has to be some kind of a crazy nightmare!”

But despite his bewildered statement at the sight of Sora and his giant key, he grabbed on to Sora’s keyblade with both hands anyway. Sora pulled against the monumental strength of the quicksand and groaned from the exertion. He dug in his heels, and with one last powerful tug, the boy was freed from the sandy trap. He went flying over Sora’s head with a hysterical scream—his helmet flying off in the process-- and landed on solid ground several feet away. Sora fell down from exhaustion and the two of them gasped for each terrified breath.

“Are—Are you okay?” Sora finally managed to say.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m okay!” It was an answer that Sora wasn’t expecting. “Poe is still in that TIE fighter! I need to--!”

But before he could finish, the TIE fighter ship gave a deep rumble and was quickly devoured by the surrounding sand. Both Sora and his rescuee watched on helplessly as the craft completely disappeared under the sandy landscape. The boy in the white armor gave a heart-wrenching sob and hit the sand under him with his fist.

“ _No_ …!” he moaned. “ _Poe… I’m sorry… I couldn’t--”_

Sora threw his head down as the weight of the situation nearly overwhelmed him. But this was no time to lose himself to sadness. He still had someone that that needed his help. He dragged himself to his feet and went to meet the apparent lone survivor of the crash.

“My name is Sora,” he said with a heavy heart as he reached out a supportive hand. “I wish… that we could have met differently. Are you hurt?”

The boy took Sora’s hand with a sniffle and retrieved his helmet before he was helped to his feet.

“Yeah, in more ways than one,” he admitted. “That was my only friend on that ship.”

Sora felt a pang of guilt at hearing that.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t save him,” he said. “But I can be your friend if you want. What’s your name?”

The boy wiped at his teary face and took a deep, calming breath.

“Finn,” he said resolutely. “My name is Finn.”

Sora nodded and turned around to look out onto the seemingly infinite desert. It was eerie just how similar this place was to Destiny Islands and yet so drastically different-- lots and lots of sand but no ocean or Paopu trees in sight. And, unfortunately, no _Blue Cadet_.

“My ship was destroyed, too,” Sora worriedly said. “I need to find out if my friends are okay.”

A heavy hand dropped on his shoulder and Sora turned to see Finn standing supportively behind him. It was then that Sora got his first good, close look at the person that he had rescued from the crash. He had a very short haircut and a face that was easy to trust. Sora had a feeling that this person had endured a lot even before today.

“Looks like we’re two of a kind,” Finn said. He was smiling but it didn’t touch his eyes. “I think it’s best if we stick together, Sora.”

Sora was already sweating profusely under his battle clothes and he knew that he wouldn’t last long out in the desert alone.

“I think so, too,” Sora said. “I didn't think a world could get this hot and still have people on it.”

It had only been a matter of minutes, but the intense desert heat was already making Sora feel weak. Even living on the Islands his entire life wasn't enough to make this heat seem any more bearable. He didn’t even know if he’d be able to walk to the closest source of water, let alone find Snow and the others.

' _Come to think of it, I wouldn't say no to actual snow right now,_ ' Sora thought, and his mind went back to the only time he ever remembered it snowing on Destiny Islands. It had been an incredible experience to build a snowman on the beach. If only he could call upon a snowstorm here like the one back home.

Then a realization struck Sora: ‘ _Wait! I have magic now!_ ’

Sora positioned his keyblade like he had in Traverse Town and Finn stumbled back in confusion. Sora closed his eyes and raised his weapon.

“ _Blizzard_!” he yelled.

The magic in his heart answered his call and a ray of blue light shot into the sky. The burst of icy magic exploded in midair and a flurry of snow surrounded them.

Finn watched on in amazement and let out an incredulous laugh.

“This is it, huh?” Finn muttered. “I’ve finally gone crazy.”

A clump of snow fell into Sora’s hands and melted in a matter of seconds. Sora thirstily gulped up the fresh water and spun around in the falling snow.

“Go crazy later,” Sora laughed at Finn. “First help me build a snowman!”

But before Finn could answer, a group of shadowy shapes rose out of the sand and surrounded them both. They were small, humanoid forms of pure darkness with heads shaped like Finn’s helmet.

“Hold that thought,” Finn said and retrieved a blaster from his hip.

The heartless stepped into the area where Sora’s blizzard magic was still creating snowfall and ice began to creep over their bodies. In seconds they were all frozen solid, and Finn let off a series of perfectly timed and aimed shots in order to shatter each of them. None of the heartless came back from that.

“Wow!” Sora exclaimed. “That was awesome! It’s a good thing I found you, Finn!”

Finn returned his blaster to his hip with a relieved sigh.

“Today just keeps getting weirder and weirder,” he said. “I’m glad that I got to meet you, too, Sora, but I’m really starting to hate this planet.”


	11. An Offer From the Darkness

Riku stirred awake on a bed that didn’t belong to him and the unnatural coldness that surrounded him made him jolt to alertness. His eyes shot open and he immediately saw Kylo Ren watching him like a hawk. The cunning man was perched on a wooden chair across the room with his face hidden behind that black mask. The sight of him made Riku terribly jumpy, but he fought to hide it.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to stare at other people?” Riku growled.

Kylo Ren lowered his head in thought.

“If she did I’ve long since forgotten it.”

Riku’s nose turned at the answer and he gave a dismissive scoff.

“It was a rhetorical question, genius,” he muttered and pulled himself into a sitting position on the bed.

Dark stone walls surrounded him in a circular room and a chill went down Riku’s spine when he saw iron shackles hanging behind him. He rubbed his bare wrists without thinking—silently grateful that he hadn’t been strung up while he had been unconscious.

“You aren’t being held captive,” Kylo Ren said, seemingly reading his mind. “You’re a guest. And I’ve been ordered to treat you as such.”

Riku angrily cut his eyes back to his kidnapper. It very much felt to him like he was being held captive by his _abductor_ in this _dungeon_ with _shackles_ on the walls.

“Ordered?” he spat. “By whom?”

Kylo Ren didn’t answer at first, and the silence that followed was so long that Riku wasn’t entirely sure if he’d been heard. Then the masked man abruptly stood and held out a gloved hand to him.

“Come with me,” he said. “And all your questions will be answered.”

Riku narrowed his eyes with mistrust. But he had no intention of staying in this horrible cell like some sort of prisoner when freedom was an available choice to him.

“It may not look like it, but I still have my weapon,” Riku warned and brought himself to his feet. “And I’m ready to use it at any time.”

Kylo Ren just lowered his outreached hand, turned on his heel, and opened up the cell door without even touching it.

“The keyblade is one of the reasons why we haven’t simply disposed of you,” Kylo Ren coolly responded. “I suggest you keep that in mind.”

As Kylo Ren disappeared into the unlit hallway, Riku gave a conflicted sigh and sprinted after him.

‘ _If this is how they treat their guests_ ,’ he thought. ‘ _I’d hate to see how they treat their enemies_.’

* * *

 

Riku was led to another circular room except this one was much bigger and didn’t have any of the amenities of a prison cell. There was only a stone table in the middle of the space where a familiar evil witch was standing with her back to them.

“I’ve brought the boy,” said Kylo Ren. “He’s willing to cooperate with us.”

Riku gave a low sound of derision. “I never said that.”

A quiet, sinister laugh filled the room, and Riku realized that this was the person who had tried to take over Traverse Town with the power of darkness.

“Well, my dear child,” crooned the wicked woman in the center of the room. “It’s certainly not too late to see reason.”

Maleficent smoothly twirled in place to get a good look at them. As she did so, Riku spotted a large raven perched on her shoulder and a golden staff in her grip. Along with the horned headdress and the purple robes that made her look like a vampire bat, she was the very image of evil incarnate.

“I have things figured out just fine,” Riku retorted. “And I’d like to leave now.”

If Maleficent was surprised by that, she didn’t show it. She glided towards Riku and put a hand on his back to lead him towards the table.

“Of course you do,” Maleficent said in a sickly-sweet voice. “This must all be very frightening for you. But first there’s something that I want to show you.”

Riku approached the table with Maleficent guiding the way and Kylo Ren joined them with his hands neatly folded behind his back. A collection of moving images flickered to life on the table as if summoned by magic. Riku could now see Sora dancing in a snowy desert with a boy in white armor along with Kairi smiling and sharing a meal with a girl he had never met.

“They’re alive!” Riku gasped without thinking.

“They have _abandoned_ you,” Maleficent told him. “Look at how happy they are now that they’ve found new companions on their journey.”

Riku glared back at her. “You’re lying,” he strongly said. “Sora and Kairi wouldn’t give up on me like that. Once I find them—“

“They’ll betray you,” Kylo Ren interrupted him. “They’ve already allied themselves with a traitor and a rebel in search for power. The Light attracts such weakness, but in greater numbers they will pose quite an inconvenience for us. The darkness that you wield will turn them against you.”

Riku furled his hands into fists. The anger in him was rising. He could feel it—a dull force deep within him threatening to burst straight from his heart.

“You don’t know them like that,” he snarled. “They’re my friends. We’re trying to save our home.”

“And they will fail,” Maleficent said. “The darkness is too strong. The light that they have chosen to arm themselves with will not be enough to protect your precious Destiny Islands from utter destruction.”

“The Dark Side will always prevail,” Kylo Ren attested. “And when you control the darkness—“ He gave another dynamic motion with his hand and three shadow heartless appeared on the table. “—You control the heartless.”

Riku watched on with a growing sense of captivation at the show of strength that these people demonstrated. It made him pause and wonder what he could do with the power in his own heart.

“I could do whatever I wanted with the heartless,” he proposed. “I could _protect_ Destiny Islands with them. Nothing would dare try to hurt the Islands if I had an army of heartless at my side.”

“That’s right,” Maleficent exclaimed. “Such a smart boy. But there is one who would stop at nothing to oppose you.”

Another figure appeared on the table. It was a mouse in a black cloak with a golden keyblade in his grip.

“ _King Mickey_.” Maleficent spit out the name as if it were poisonous. “A champion of the Light. If left unchecked, he would expand his reach across the worlds and put everything you cherish into question.”

An image of Destiny Islands appeared on the table, and as the tiny mouse waved his keyblade, a shaft of pure light razed Riku’s home until it was a barren patch of sand. Riku’s teeth gritted at the sight of it.

“Sora and Kairi wouldn’t allow that,” he said, but his conviction was wavering.

Maleficent just tutted at him and smoothed down his silver hair with a façade of kindness.

“I’m afraid that King Mickey has a way of appealing to the light in people’s hearts,” Maleficent said. “And I have reason to believe that he has already found your friends. He is turning them against you as we speak.”

Riku knocked Maleficent’s hand off of him and leapt backwards to put distance between them.

“Kind of like what you’re doing to me?” he accused.

Maleficent _did_ look surprised at that, but then that crude, self-assured glint quickly returned to her eyes.

“I only want what’s best for you, child,” she said. “Your keyblade—Way to Dawn—it’s a weapon born from the darkness. If these harbingers of light had their way, they’d close the Door to Darkness-- the source of your power-- and your keyblade would disappear. You’d be the only one who’s completely powerless in your little group of so-called friends. _Then_ how would they treat you?”

That caught Riku off-guard. He instinctively summoned his keyblade and it appeared to him in a wash of pure darkness. It made his chest hurt to think that his friends were choosing a side that was so obviously incompatible with his true nature.

" _If that's what they've decided_ ,' he thought. ' _Then_ three _can play at that game_."

Riku took a deep, collective breath and gave Maleficent a look of dark resolve.

“What should I do?”

Maleficent broke into a blackhearted smile at Riku's response and thoughtfully put a hand at her chin.

“Fully accept the darkness in your heart and become a true master of darkness,” she told him. “And I’ll make sure that nothing stands in your way.”


	12. A Meeting of Ways

“I just arrived on-world, Donald. They don’t seem to be here yet.”

King Mickey was leaning inconspicuously against the tent pole of a trade kiosk on Niima, but a four-foot tall talking mouse was bound to attract attention… even on a planet full of space aliens.

“Maybe I landed the Gummi Ship on the wrong part of the world,” Mickey fretfully continued. Then he gave a heavy sigh. “I just hope this isn’t another wild goose chase.”

“Don’t give up hope, Your Majesty!” Goofy’s voice came over Mickey’s earpiece. “Chip and Dale’s computers say that this is definitely the place. Their radars show that this world is lit up with heartless like a big, ole’ Christmas tree. Something big and bad is happening there, for sure. And you’ll be there to stop it.”

Mickey smiled at Goofy’s reassurances. The confidence and conviction of Goofy’s words set Mickey’s mind and heart at ease.

“You’re right,” Mickey said. “I can’t lose heart now. We need to find those keyblade wielders no matter what, but doing some good along the way can never hurt.” Then he let out a quiet chuckle. “I sure am glad that I have you to keep my spirits up, Goofy.”

“Gawrsh, King Mickey,” Goofy modestly responded. “You know you can always count on us.”

“Yeah! You can do it, Your Highness!” Donald’s electronic voice quacked in Mickey’s ear. “Just follow the directions from the Gummi Wayfinder that Chip and Dale made for you. It strengthens the unbreakable connection between all of us. It’ll show you the way.”

Mickey reached into the pocket of his black cloak and brought out a blocky, paopu-shaped trinket made of red and yellow Gummi blocks.

“The unbreakable connection… between all of us…” Mickey held the wayfinder close to his heart and looked out onto the desert horizon. “They have to be here,” he said with certainty. “I can feel it.”

* * *

 

Sora and Finn reluctantly abandoned their blizzard in the desert in search for a town, and they eventually came upon the trade outpost. Everything seemed downright normal with people bartering their wares and perusing the booths with not a single heartless in sight.

“So you said you’re from an island?” Finn asked Sora. “Your home is a little patch of sand surrounded by water?”

“Yep,” Sora answered him as they entered town. “It’s called Destiny Islands. And I’m trying to get back there as soon as possible. But I need to find my friends-- Riku and Kairi-- first.”

Finn whistled under his breath. “That sounds incredible,” he admitted. “I’ve never been anywhere like that.”

“You can come visit sometime,” Sora offered with a smile. “The more the—“

Sora’s voice trailed as two people standing next to each other caught his attention.

One was a girl with brown hair in three buns and a quarterstaff strapped to her back.

And the other was Kairi.

“Kairi!” he exclaimed and sprinted towards her without a second thought.

“H- Hey! Wait up!” Finn called out and chased after him.

When she heard her name, Kairi looked up from a cup that she was drinking from and her face lit up with absolute joy.

“Sora!” she shouted, and Sora tackled her in a giggly bear hug that sent her drink flying.

“I found you!” he said breathlessly. “There was an explosion on Blue Cadet and I tried to catch you, but--! I’m so sorry I couldn't grab your hand in time!”

“It’s not your fault, Sora,” Kairi said and hugged him back. “I’m just glad you’re okay. And I’m really happy to see you, too.”

Rey looked like she wanted to chastise Sora and Kairi for wasting the drink in their kerfuffle, but something much more urgent was ominously descending out of the sky.

“Oh no…” Rey gasped and took a fearful step backwards as she spotted it. “The First Order…!”

Finn must have realized the urgency of the situation as well because he promptly grabbed Sora’s hand.

“Hide!” he blurted out and dragged Sora behind a nearby trade kiosk. Rey hastily took Kairi by the wrist and brought them to Finn and Sora’s hiding spot with a look of terror in her dark eyes.

A giant command shuttle the color of midnight itself was landing just outside the trading post. The ship’s thrusters kicked up a gigantic cloud of dust and all four of them went into a coughing fit.

“The First Order?” Kairi asked once her coughing had passed. “You mean a group of heartless?”

“Worse,” Finn told her, cautiously peering around the trade booth. “These guys make the heartless seem like cute and cuddly porgs.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Kairi admitted. “But if they’re even worse than the heartless, I definitely don’t want them to find us.”

A large, metallic loading ramp extended from the command ship with a hydraulic hiss of steam and three figures appeared at the ship’s open bay door. Finn’s eyes went wide as he recognized Kylo Ren standing in full armor and ducked out of sight again with a small gasp.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked him.

“That guy…” Finn said in a small, panicked voice. “He was my—I mean… he’s a First Order commander.”

Rey gave him an angry look. “How do you know that?” she demanded. “I can barely even see him.”

“Just trust me, alright?” Finn said with a huff. “Don’t worry; I don’t want him to find us any more than you do.”

Kairi risked and glance around the corner and her eyes went wide when she saw who else was on the ship.

“Sora, it’s that evil sorceress from Traverse Town!” she announced. “And Riku’s with her!”

At that, Sora anxiously dove out to get a look, and just as Kairi had said, Riku was standing at Maleficent’s side in a different outfit than the one that they had bought him in Traverse Town. It was a black, durable-looking battle outfit with a red ‘x’ across the chest of it. Riku looked downright frightening in it even from a distance.

“Come on, Kairi!” Sora exclaimed as he eagerly jumped out of their hiding spot. “We have to tell him that we’re okay!”

“Wait! Don’t!” Rey hissed at them, but Sora and Kairi were already up and running towards the command ship.

“I’m sorry, Rey!” Kairi yelled over her shoulder. “We’ll come back for you!”

Sora couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he navigated his way through the labyrinth of kiosks with Kairi at his heels. He had been reunited with both of his closest friends in no time at all. It was almost too good to be true.

Once they reached the outskirts of Niima Outpost, Sora and Kairi skidded to a halt at the bottom of the ship’s loading ramp and gazed up at their friend. Sora could hardly contain his excitement.

“Riku!” he called out to him. “It’s us! What are you doing in that big ship?”

Riku was silent for a long moment, and just when Sora thought that his friend hadn’t heard him, Riku summoned his keyblade with a harsh flick of his hand.

“I’ve chosen a side, Sora!” Riku shouted. “I fight with the darkness now! Just like how you and Kairi chose to side yourselves with the light!”

Sora’s smile was practically slapped off his face at that.

“ _What_? Chosen a side?” he yelled out in utter disbelief. “Riku, you can’t be serious!”

“Please just come down and talk to us!” Kairi desperately called to him. “We can figure this out together!”

But before Riku could respond, Rey and Finn sprinted up to them with their weapons at the ready.

“Rey?” Kairi said with surprise.

"Finn?" Sora added. "Why are you--?"

“We couldn’t leave you to face those monsters alone,” Rey told her as she took an aggressive stance with her quarterstaff pointed at the ship.

“You saved me, Sora,” Finn said with his loaded blaster in hand. “It’s time for me to return the favor.”

Maleficent gave a dark smile and leaned in close to Riku.

“You see?” she crooned into his ear. “Your so-called friends have already aligned themselves with those wretched fools. Their new companions are dangerous rebels who oppose the very darkness that empowers you. I tried to warn you, but now you can see it for yourself.”

Riku gritted his teeth at that and gave a loud, angry shout as he swung his keyblade in a wide arc. Half a dozen lesser heartless responded to the gesture and spawned from the ground. They surrounded Sora, Kairi, Rey, and Finn in a tight circle and prepared to strike. Sora and Kairi moved closer to each other for protection and hurriedly summoned their keyblades.

“Sora...” Kairi worriedly said. “Is Riku really going to attack us?”

“This has to be a mistake!” Sora exclaimed, shaking his head as if it would wake him from some horrible dream.

But before either side could initiate the fight, a flash of bright gold swiped past Sora and Kairi. The six heartless that had been called on by Riku exploded all at once and a black-cloaked figure landed squarely on the sand between them and the ship.

“Maleficent!” King Mickey shouted. “You _were_ here, after all!”

Maleficent didn’t seem upset by the king’s sudden appearance. If anything, she looked gratified.

“Your Radiance,” she announced with mock reverence. “The Path of Light and The Path of Darkness meet at a crossroads yet again.”

Sora and Kairi looked on in amazement as King Mickey faced down Maleficent and her cronies with a golden keyblade in his grasp.

“You’d better leave this world now, Maleficent, or I’ll do whatever I have to to protect it!”

King Mickey’s declaration cut through the arid desert air and as Riku watched these events unfold a haze of darkness began to surround him.

“Sora! Kairi! Don’t listen to that guy!” Riku countered the king. “Just go back home and wait for me! Soon I’ll be able to summon an army of heartless and protect the worlds by myself!”

Sora felt his heart sink at that. Was that what Riku really wanted to do? Did he really think that Maleficent would help him save Destiny Islands?

“Riku!” Kairi cried out. “Please come with us! We can’t do this without you!”

Riku’s grip tightened on his keyblade and his eyes went dark with his resolve.

“You’re right,” he told her. “You can’t do this without me. But I can do it without you.”

Kylo Ren extended his gloved hand in an aggressive gesture and a wave of darkness whipped up the sand in a mighty gust of wind. Down below, everyone gave a frightened shout as a dust devil formed between them and the ship. Tendrils of darkness wrapped around the twister as it rapidly grew in size. Sora groaned as he shielded his face from the wild winds and could barely see past his hands as the command ship retracted its loading ramp and took off back into the cloudless sky.

King Mickey immediately jumped into action and pointed his keyblade at the sandy tornado.

“ _Light_!” he commanded, and a ray of pure white light shot out from the end of his golden keyblade. The darkness that had brought the sand to life was instantly banished once the spell reached it and the dust settled just in time for the ship to disappear from sight.

Sora could only watch on helplessly as his friend flew out of his reach once again.

“Well gosh,” King Mickey muttered as he turned towards the small ragtag group. “I guess I’ve got some explaining to do, huh?”


End file.
